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Life on the farm is rough. It’s even harder during a pandemic. What with all this horrible isolation and such. No no no. Not the Covid pandemic. That’s so 5 years ago. I’m referring to the latest installment of “Frontier Internet And Their Ongoing Battle To Remain On The Ol’ Frontier” or as I like to call it The Third Effing Multi-day Internet Outage On The Range.  So, I did what I always do…

I have my granny’s hands. Fingers, long and thin.Lythe, and graceful.Deep nail beds thatmake for long nails,even when they’re cut short. I used to watch her workDeftly chopping, peelingKneading, measuring a pinchWith just her fingers,– Watching my Granny cookWas magical.Growing up beside herIn her tiny kitchen,I learned how to say“I love you ” with cookies.I watched how she made smilesOut of…

An Open Letter To Mark Zuckerberg

Hey there Mark, I read about your recent offer to compensate Roger Waters for using Pink Floyd’s song “Another Brick In The Wall” for a new ad, and I just had to wonder if you don’t live in an alternate universe. I guess Roger wondered the same, and I was glad to see that all that money of yours couldn’t buy a song. Then I wondered some more…Do you even know what that song is about? It’s about…

Herein, I will surely piss off everyone on some level. These are my personal observations and opinions, based on 52 years of my own personal life experiences. As such, I don’t expect anyone to agree with everything I say, though some will agree with some aspects, and some none at all. As they are my personal opinions, they are unlikely to change based on debate via social networking, so I won’t…

Cake layer:

1 box Vanilla or yellow cake mix 1 cup melted butter 4 eggs 1 8oz brick softened cream cheese 2 t. Vanilla 3 C powdered sugar

Filling: See below

Topping 2 cups sweetened whipped cream (or whipped topping if you must..gross, but whatever) 2 cups coconut chips, toasted until golden

Make cake layer.

Preheat oven to 325* Place rack on second lowest position.

Beat all ingredients together just…

When I was a kid, all I knew of Wiener Schnitzel was that it meant the saltiest, gooiest, cheesiest and somehow still delicious chili cheese dogs were about to go down. Down my throat. Get in mah belleh…. In fact, that was what my mom craved when she was pregnant with my baby sister. I was 14 at the time, and still couldn’t even get a learner’s permit to drive. But when your mom gets a chili dog…

Several years ago, when my boys were in the 10-14 age range, I fought a long battle with them over “retarded”. Everything and everyone was, apparently, retarded.  My Human Resource Director hat got on my head, and they had to hear about how hurtful it was to say those things, and what if you had a little brother or sister that was challenged and you heard someone saying that…yada yada yada.…

Roof Cake…The Evolution of Baked Goods

I’m back. Not sure for how long, but for the moment anyway, I am back. Like before, I didn’t go anywhere in particular. Just, away. From writing. Which is odd, because I quite enjoy it. In my defense, I’ve been extraordinarily busy for a few years. I moved—twice. I’ve been running my own food business (food truck, catering, wedding cakes, etc..), and I was working elsewhere. Plenty of fun things…

Okay, I am going to do the unthinkable today.  This is just me, and I am going to wax political. I am not going to talk about who is right and who is wrong, because nobody is. Not going to bash any group of people or any belief system, because they are all important. I am simply going to share my personal stance on some of the key political issues today.

Why? Because people keep asking.

I don’t…

I have a dear friend in need of medical care.  Please read the blog below. And help any way you can

http://www.cookistry.com/2015/08/project-karma-and-cookbook-giveaway.html?m=1Karma in action… paying it forward

Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself.

Since shortly after graduating from college in 1992, I have worked as a Human Resource professional.  I loved it. Everyone, including myself, always said I’d have been a great lawyer.  Drawn to the intense legal focus of the Human Resource profession, and the constant use of my written and verbal communication proficiency, I prospered.  Until I no…

Gumbo, Graveyards, and Falling In Love

I’m back. Not from anywhere in particular, but here I am. I have missed you all as I have missed these pages on which I scribble my thoughts and my recipes. But for reasons that I’ll just call “life”, I have stayed away.   I was too busy doing not much of anything–too bored and apathetic to get on the keyboard and tap out some thoughts. No pithy commentary. No snark or sarcasm. No educational bit…

Four Birthdays and A Funeral

July 28th is a special day in my life….So many birthdays in my family.

  My BFF Lance. My cousin Evan. My quasi-cousin Jennifer. And it was supposed to be the day my first born came into the world.  But he had his own ideas, and arrived two weeks early.

But most notably, today is my Granny’s birthday.

My Granny was a babe

My Granny—Neva Lee Knight Gough— would have been 87 years old today. But…

#GreekSummer Getaway–and a Giveaway

Anyone that’s read my blog for a minute knows that I love Greek food, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review Debbie Matenopoulos’new cookbook, It’s All Greek To Me…

One of my best friends when I was growing up was Greek, and I spent many summer days at her home, watching her Yia-Yia (grandma) spend her whole day in the kitchen. Every. Single. Day. Of. The. Week.  And I happily reaped…

You Eat With Your Eyes First

It isn’t often that I write about my day job.  Not that being a Human Resource professional isn’t interesting—it is. Maybe even TOO interesting at times.  When the moon is full, I deal with so much crazy at work that I just want to go home and bake and write and forget about it.

But as I was pondering an article about the importance of plating to the dining experience, and how I showcase my…

Top Ten Ways You KNOW You’re a Texan

So, the top ten ways to know that you are a Texan are thus:

10.  It is February, you’re A/C is running. In fact, you’re A/C runs every day, except for 12 minutes in early January.

9.     You see a snake. Your first thought is whether it would make a better belt or hatband.

8.     The Larry Joe Taylor Music Festival is on your bucket list.

7.     You consider RC Cola and Moon Pie haute cuisine

6.…

The Skeleton in My Closet

  Below is my True Blood season 5 kick off post from 2012. Sunday I’ll share my post from 2013, and Monday look for a post to kick off this, the seventh and last season of the best vampire series ever. EVER. Don’t be surprised if you see funereal dishes show up. I’ll be in mourning for years and may need grief counseling.

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We all…